Like a
good little drone I will usually plunk my hard earned money down for at least
one issue of any Transformers comic
that IDW releases. This is not purely a
nostalgia-based purchase (for that you can look no further than DC’s Masters of the Universe line) as these
are some of the best comics on the stand today.
The writing is generally spot-on in terms of not only adhering to the
particular “voice” I remember these characters having in my youth, but the art
is also some of the best in the business.
To be able to take such complex forms and make them not only readable
but fluid within a comic book setting is not an easy thing. Hell I can’t even do it in a pinup, I have no
idea how some of these artists do it for an entire book.
That
being said, let’s look at the latest mini-series to drop in the Transformers line. Monstrosity
actually started out as a webcomic (much like its predecessor Autocracy – which
I still have to pick up) and is being collected for print. While the ethics of this are probably fairly
dubious at best (you can’t tell me that the “talent” is being paid for the
digital, print, and eventual trade paperback versions of the story – or, you
can I just won’t believe you) it’s interesting to see how the transition is
made from digital to print.
This says issue 3 but it's actually the third cover of issue one of the print comic.
Cover:
It wouldn’t
be an IDW book without multiple covers.
This one has three standard covers all by interior artist Livio
Ramondelli. I picked the one that was on
top of the pile when I went shopping for it, which was the cover showcasing the
dinobots (or as they are called here: the dynobots). I flipped through the stack just to see the
other covers and was happy with my choice.
Covers A and B feature Megatron and Scorponok, respectively and while
they are well done, I have a soft spot for the dinobots. The cover itself shows a pretty standard
dinobot pose that is rendered in the standard Ramondelli way.
While I
enjoy the subject matter, the execution leaves a little to be desired. The one major flaw in Ramondelli’s work as a
whole is that because of the lack of outlines, everything tends to blend
together. This is the main flaw here,
and the background having a yellowish tint to it is a poor choice given the
yellow on the ‘bots themselves. Beyond
that, the actual figures look off in terms of the perspective on their
individual pieces, especially Swoop in the back and Sludge on the left
side. I realize that with so many
different pieces that make up your standard Transformer, it is hard to keep
everything in order to the point of perfection when it comes to perspective,
yet there are too many instances in this cover that just look…off.
6/10 – It looks like a lot of time was spent on Grimlock
because he is in the foreground with less and less being spent on each of the characters
as they get further into the distance. While
that makes sense to a point, the foundation should still be there.
Story:
The
execution of the story and how it was transferred from just a set of episodes
to one coherent comic book was of interest to me. Obviously there is an overarching story going
through it, but how the writing team of Chris Metzen and Flint Dille was going
to synch up each installment and make it cohesive was of great interest to
me. Would this feel like a comic book or
just a series of collected pages?
The
good thing is that there is a lot going on here, and I mean a lot. We are following at least four major
storylines that will undoubtedly intersect sooner rather than later. This obviously helps when it comes to the
individual episodes and would create a natural transition point from the start
of each page. However in a collected
format, that could lead to almost a schizophrenic feel, which is what I would
hope to avoid if I was the writer. At
first, the transition is not that big of a deal, especially since we are being
exposed to many different characters, settings and conflicts. It’s almost expected to have many jump cuts
in that section. However, once the
action slows down a bit in terms of introductions, one would expect to have a
little more time with the characters where everything can be fleshed out a bit
more. While Metzen and Dille do a great
job of living within the confines of their media while still moving the story
along, it is jarring to be someplace new with pretty much every turn of the page.
One of the
main requirements for producing a Transformers
comic is being able to work with a huge cast. Even if you were to focus on a small,
recognizable group of Transformers, all of the bit players would have a
distinct voice and would be recognizable to someone, so you would have to try
and adhere to that voice. This is one
thing that Metzen and Dille do incredibly well.
They could use the excuse that this takes place right after the war and
before the original cartoon that many people use as the basis for the characters
as an excuse to alter the personalities of the characters, but they don’t (at
least not yet). The only characters that
seem different are the dinobots, but I’m not sure if that’s not because they
have some kind of ulterior motive (but I’m sure that will be revealed).
7/10 – While the transfer from digital to print is not as
seamless as I would like it to be, it’s a good story and this issue provides a
great framework for the rest of the series.
With so many moving pieces it will be interesting to see how they all
fit together.
Art:
Any
complaints about Ramondelli’s cover art can also be transferred to his
interiors. That being said, Ramondelli
does an exceptional job of switching up the color palette to reflect not only
the specific group featured in each particular scene, but also the mood in each
scene. This is something that Ramondelli
has always excelled at in his Transformers
artwork. The main problem is a decided
lack of clarity in his work based upon the lack of outlines and the color palette
that he chooses. This may not be as big
of an issue when the comics are digitally presented, but when printed they look
like a collection of blobs broken up by word balloons in many instances. Where the images are legible, they more often
than not, look more like paper cut-outs than three dimensional objects. It’s almost as if removing the outlines had
the opposite effect on the artwork.
Ramondelli
does a decent job of providing action and storytelling where legible. The characters are almost instantly
recognizable and their form stays consistent throughout the entirety of the
issue. Ramondelli does a great job of
mixing up camera angles and not letting the storytelling become stagnant and
boring. He prominently features both
close-ups and full body shots with great regularity.
6/10 – There are some very good things here. The pages are well constructed, and possibly
in the original platform they were very legible. Here, not as much.
Overall: 7/10 – The story is great and the art is good
enough for me to continue with this limited series. I would suggest checking it out if you are
already a fan of the Transformers, or
if you are intrigued about dinobots or the terrorcons.
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